Traction mat



Patented July 2.2, ISE@ SA'M SALL, OF. SYRACUSE, YORK.

TRaorroN MAT.

Application iledApi-il 10, 1924. Serial No. 705,487'.V

To all lwhom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Sau SALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traction Mats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in traction mats, designed to be conveniently carried by an automobile, and which may be readily and effectively employed for extri-V cating the power-driven wheels of the vehicle from mud-holes, loose sand, vor marshy sections of a road, without requiring jackingup or otherwise hoisting the vehicle wheels.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a simplelight and strong device of the class, which is flexible throughout, and

therefore may be readily and properly ap-V plied to a rut, and which also readily conforms itself to conditions of the road-ahead of the wheel; one end of the device being equipped with a woven chain section, which insures positive and unfailing traction at the start of the extricating operations. A further object is to provide a succession of transverse angle irons closely and evenly linked to each other, which are arranged to Y provide a temporary corduroy, for support- 80 ing the vehicle, immediately following its initial forward movement over the chainy section, until the wheel is free from the mud or sand. And a further object is to providea traction mat that may be constructed from commercial angle-iron and chain stock, at slight expense, and which may be rolled into a compact bundle and readily stowed away in a corner of the tool-box, or beneath one of the vehicle seats.

I attain these objects by the means set forth in the detailed description which follows, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of the complete device, extended ready for use.y Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the application of the mat to a mired wheel. And Fig. 4 is a view; sli-lowing the mat rolled up for storage, when i le. Y

In the drawing, 2 represents conventionally a wheel of an automobile, which is shown mired in a marshy section of a road or mud-hole 3. Y

My improved traction mat consists mainly of a plurality of angle irons 4, all of which are preferably the same length and are disposed parallel to each other.V The angle irons 4 are preferably regularly spaced` apart, and are held in relatively close order,Y so that the whole of the main body of the mat is rendered flexible, by means of two series of links 5, each ofY said .links being loosely inserted through corresponding'perforations 6, which are located near the ad- G5 jacent edges of the *irons` 4, as best seen in Fig. 1. By this construction" and arrangement of the parts 4 and 5, the zmain body of the mat'is adapted to readily conform to almost 'any condition of aroad or rut,` and 70 the device may also be readily rolled into a compact bundle, as shown in Fig. 4, for

conveniently carrying andV storing` the'same.

The iron members 4. are preferably disposed so'tha't the apexes 4 of the'members faceV 75 upwardly, and these relatively sharp corners tend to bite or sink transversely into the elastic material of the tire shoes, and thereby afford the very best and surest tractive means Vfor extricating the wheels, as2, 50 from loose sand, mud, or other miry'condition of the roads. i The close spacing of the members 4 is provided expressly for insuring the positive and constant engagement by the wheel of two or more of the angular ribs 4, thereby improving the tractive effect of the mat. Owing to the rigidity of the members 4, and the pitch of their angles 4a, the wheels do not always take hold of the barred portion of the mat, as readily as desired. 4To 90 overcome this difficulty, in a simple and novel manner, I provide at one end of the mat proper, a woven section comprising a plurality of parallel longitudinally arranged chains 8, of'equal length, whose forward 95. end links are loosely attached to the endV iron 4, by means of' a vnumber of perforations 8, while the opposite endsr of said chains are suitably connected and" spaced,

by a transverse chain 8a. This chain section, .100

is usually :iirst inserted beneath the mired wheel, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of a stick, or other suitable ramming implement, and the said section being flexible throughout, may be readily applied under conditions, wherein the stiff and more bulky members 4 could not be so readily disposed. 'Furthermore, the chain section readily conforms to and tends to embracethe rounding tread of the tire, and owing to the arrangement and shape of the links 8b, provides the requisite traction to instantly start the extrication of the Wheel. 'Als the Wheel-2 YprogressesY over the Chain section, the Weight of the vehicle tends to hold the mat from slipping until the tire engages the sharp ridges 4 of the irons, By this arrangement, tliereis Vno danger of the mat creeping or becoming dis torted by the rotation of the Wheel, and thereby frustrating the 'Work Obviously, owing to the loose arrangement of the links 5, the mat'may 'be 'flexed laterally (not shown), so as to provide a curved path for the Wheel 2; and changes vmay'be made in the oonstruotionand arrangement of the parts of the device, without departing from thescope of the inventiom'as delin'ed by the appended claims. y

Having thus deseribedmy invention, what I claim, is`V A1. A traction mat Comprisingaplurality of parallel transversely disposed rangle irons, single linlis connectingv the opposite ends o the adj aeent' edges of the said irons and evenly spacing uthe same, and Va Woven chain section l'vrojeoting from'one end of the angle-iron body ladapted to 'provide initial traction for a `mired vehicle Wheel.

2. A traotion mat comprising a'suece'ssion of Closely 'spaced 'Cross members formed Vfrom lbeing provided with a row of perforations.

and a plurality of longitudinally disposed 'Vohains having their corresponding ends inserted through said perforations, and havingI` their opposite ends connected and spaced by transverse chain, the said chain section adapted to be rammed beneath a mired wheel for aiiording tractive "support for the Wheel until the latter rengages the rigid cross members.

3. tra'etion'mat including a plurality oi transversely disposed angle members Whose apexes face upwardly, said members being closely and'ev'enly 'spaced and flexibly con-- nected by single links 'which engage corresponding perforations formed in the adja- 'centedges of the members, one of the end members being provided near its `free edge with a r'oW'of perforations, a series of parallel 'longitudinally arranged ohains of equal length Vengaging` said perforations, and a transverse chain connecting and spaeingthe free ends of the longitudinal chains.

Intestimony whereof I "afiXmy signature.

` SAM SALL. 

